CAPE MAY — The largest and most opulent Cape May bed and breakfast inn and hotel, the 1863 Southern Mansion, 720 Washington St., will be transformed into Cape May’s seventh annual Designer Show House, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC).
This historic mansion will showcase the talents and products of some of the area’s well-known designers and vendors and is scheduled to be open for tours from May 20 through Jan. 1, 2012.
In 1863, the Philadelphia industrialist George Allen built this high style Italianate villa on the island of Cape May. Its design is universally attributed to acclaimed architect Samuel Sloan, who published a similar design in 1868 entitled “Design for a Southern Mansion.”
While vacationing in Cape May in early 1994, the Bray/Wilde family, of Philadelphia, walked along the north side of the abandoned property in sheer disbelief and wondered how could such a beautiful house with extensive grounds in Cape May be in such disrepair?
In August of 1994, they purchased the home and over the next 18 months the mansion and grounds were restored. The mansion underwent a massive overhaul that included everything from new I-beams to support the house and straighten the rolling hallway floors to a restoration of the five chimneys using the original bricks.
All of the original architectural elements and furnishings, including the gasolier fixtures, walls, ceilings, floors, stairs, doors and windows have been restored to their original splendor.
Inspired by a Samuel Sloan lithograph of the house entitled “The Southern Mansion” (which now hangs prominently in the entrance hallway), the house was re-opened with that name in the spring of 1996.
Phase II of the renovation resulted in the new south wing that houses 10 additional guest suites, 12 bathrooms, a second ballroom, a commercial kitchen, three balconies, a gallery, verandah, solarium and two magnificent circular staircases, all designed and built in the same style as the original mansion. By the summer of 1997 the entire project was complete.
Once again, the region’s top talented interior designers, contractors and vendors will take over the mansion and makeover several guest rooms and public areas of the house to create this year’s Show House. The Southern Mansion will remain fully operational and continue to host visitors during its time as the Designer Show House.
The following sections of the Southern Mansion are set to be on tour and redone by the participating designers: the front porch, the entry foyer, hallway and stairways, the double parlor, guest rooms two and five, nine the cupola, the south wing banquet room and the yard/garden area.
This year’s Cape May Designer Show House will be open for self-guided tours from May 20 through Jan., 1 2012. Tours are offered daily from 1-4 p.m. Each visitor will receive a full-color program book with information about the designers, products and vendors. Admission is $15.
Tours of the Designer Show House can be combined with lunch packages at the Carriage House Tearoom & Café located on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. See the Designer Show House decked out in holiday style through Cape May’s Christmas season, Nov. 18 to Jan. 1, 2012.
For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www. capemaymac.org.
